WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HR 7329

FREEDOM Act

119th Congress Introduced by Don Bacon and 5 co-sponsors

The bill speeds energy and mineral permitting by setting firm timelines, de-risking payments, and funds, while limiting delays on fully permitted projects.

Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HR 7329

Overview

HR 7329, titled the FREEDOM Act (Fighting for Reliable Energy and Ending Doubt for Open Markets Act), would reform federal energy and mineral project permitting. It aims to streamline agency approvals, clarify authorization timelines, limit administrative pauses on fully permitted projects, and create new de-risking and permitting funds. It also modifies non-federal land permitting for geothermal energy and adds a broad permitting and judicial-review framework intended to reduce regulatory uncertainty and associated costs.

Main purpose and intent

  • Reduce regulatory risk and project delays in energy, mining, and related infrastructure by imposing enforceable timelines and clearer processes.
  • Accelerate and de-risk capital-intensive energy projects to bolster U.S. energy security and economic competitiveness.
  • Limit federal actions that halt or delay fully permitted projects absent specific justified circumstances.
  • Create financial mechanisms (funds) to support permitting and compensate project sponsors for unrecoverable losses due to agency actions or delays.

Key provisions and changes

  • Title XII (Energy permitting and review reform):

    • Establishes defining terms (agency, authorization, complex authorization, covered energy project, environmental document, lead agency, project sponsor, reviewing court, routine vs. complex authorizations).
    • Subtitle B: Federal Land Energy and Mineral Reforms
    • Accelerates rights-of-way for eligible projects on federal land; cost-recovery upfront; low-disturbance categorical exclusions for certain activities; provisions to expedite permitting.
    • Subtitle C: De-Risking Compensation Program
    • Creates a De-Risking Compensation Fund under the Department of Energy.
    • Establishes a De-Risking Program to compensate project sponsors for unrecoverable losses caused by agency actions, inaction, or delays.
    • Eligibility, premium elections (1.5% of project capital contribution annually, adjustable), and enforcement through the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
    • Subtitle D: Permitting Timelines and Performance Fund
    • Requires notices of initiation (NOIs), project schedules, and categorizes authorizations as routine or complex.
    • Sets deadlines: routine authorizations within 90 days; complex authorizations within 1 year, with extensions for environmental impact statements.
    • Introduces Reviewing Court-approved contractors to perform certain analyses when agencies miss deadlines; funds these activities via a Permitting Performance Fund.
    • Subtitle E: Expedited Judicial Review and Enforcement
    • Expedited procedures for petitions challenging agency actions or delays; clear standards for relief, penalties, and appeals.
    • Provides for penalties against agencies for noncompliance with court-ordered schedules.
    • Subtitle F: Limiting Orders Against Fully Permitted Projects
    • Prohibits federal actions terminating or delaying a fully permitted project unless specific conditions are met (clear harm and no viable alternative, or illegality that requires remedy).
    • Subtitle G: Other Matters
    • Government Accountability Office to survey industry satisfaction with permitting and report on timelines and perceived inequities.

  • Subtitle G also contemplates a separate cost-recovery framework under Geothermal leasing (Section 4 amendments):

    • Annual lease sales frequency changes (from every 2 years to annually).
    • Replacement sales if a yearly lease sale is canceled or delayed, with no cancellation/delay for replacement sales.
    • Expanded cost-recovery authority and related regulatory adjustments to geothermal development.

  • Effective date and transition:

    • Many provisions apply to NOIs filed after enactment or within a specified window; several sections include interim timelines for ongoing projects.

Who/what would be affected

  • Project sponsors (private, public, or public-private) pursuing covered energy projects (energy generation, carbon capture, or mineral production) would participate in the De-Risking Program and Permitting Timelines framework.
  • Federal agencies involved in energy and mineral project permitting would face mandated deadlines, potential court-ordered actions, and penalties for delays.
  • The Department of Energy (DOE) would manage the De-Risking Compensation Fund and oversee program administration.
  • Geothermal leasing operations would be adjusted to annual leasing and replacement sale requirements, plus cost-recovery regulatory changes for permitting.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Clear deadlines: final agency decisions by 90 days (routine) or 1 year (complex), with extensions for environmental impact statements.
  • Notices of initiation: 30-day completeness determinations; project schedules within 30 days of completeness.
  • Expedited judicial pathways: accelerated briefing and disposition, with decisions targeted within 120 days after petition.
  • Financial penalties for noncompliance and a dedicated fund (Permitting Performance Fund) to support contractor work and penalties-related payments.
  • Effective date: transitional rules for pending NOIs and a phased rollout within months of enactment.

Note: This summary focuses on the bill’s substantive provisions and potential impacts, not on political considerations.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.